Circuit-controller.



i ii-r n STATES PAT HENRY P. BALL, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ANID GILBERT WEIGHT, SCEENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOBS TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY,

A CORPORATION- OF NEW YORK.

' CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER.

' To all whom it'may concern trolling electric. circuits and more particularly to automatic circuit breakers which are non-cl'os'able on overload and are especially adapted to be used in place of fuses on panel boards and switch boards.

The main and branch circuits controlled by small switch boards and by the panel boards commonly used for the lighting circuits in buildings are generall protected by means of fuses, which are c jectionable on account of the difliculty in calibrating a fuse and the expense and trouble of replacing a fuse each time an overload occurs upon any of the circuits.

The object of our invention is to overcome the difliculties met with in the use of fuses, and to provide a simple, cheap and 'efiicient circuit controller which occupies a minimum space on the panel or switch board, is nonclosable on overload, will automatically open the circuit upon occurrence of overload, has a ver light and easily movable contact for bi'ea ing the circuit, can be used without change or modification to connect branch circuits to either side of a three-wire system and which is in general an improved form of simple and reliable circuit breaker, well adapted for use on panel boards and similar small switch boards.

In carryin out our invention, the circuit is controlleddiy means of a light and easily movable contact arm or blade biased to open the circuit and normally held in circuit closing position by some form of latch The switch blade is connected in series with the contact and a tripping coil mounted onthe switch blade has an armature which engages the latch and thereby automatically opens the circuit upon the occurrence of an overload. The parts are preferabl so mounted that the circuit breaker 'is c osed Specification of Letter- Patent Application filed December 22,1908. Serial No. 48 884.

Patented une 2, 1914.

by moving the switch arm in a direction to open the switch andafter the circuit breaker has been latched in the closed position, the switch arm is moved back and closes the circuit. If an overload exists when the switch finally closes the circuit, the circuit breaker is automatically tripped and opens the -circuit. The switch arm is rendered (unusually short and compact by making it of two parts which are bound or clamped together by the overload coil and are connected to opposite ends ofthe overload coil so that the switch arm is very little longer than the overload coil. Contact clips of a. special formare used to cooperate with the movable contact and are so proportioned that a standard form of circuit ,controller can be used to connect branch circuits to either side of a three-wire system, the 0111 change that is required being a change in t e position of the contact clips.

Our invention will best be understood in I connection with the accompanying drawing, which is an illustration ofone of the various forms in which it may be embodied I and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of'a panel board with our circuit controller mounted thereon, the lower side of the circuit being open; Fig, 2 a side view of the circuit controller shown in Fig. 1, with one of the overload coils shown in section along the line 2---2; Fig. 3a sectional view'onthe line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 a perspective view showing a detail of the device.'

In the specific form of device shown in the drawings, the parts are mounted on a base or panel board 1, which is made of marble or any suitable insulating material and carries the three arallel conductors or bus bars 2, 3 and 4, o a' three-wire system.

On these conductors are mounted contact clips 5, which, as shown in Fig. 2, areeach provided with a base 6 shaped to engage one of the conductors or bus are and to be held thereon by means of a set screw, and also provided with contacting surfaces 7 which are out of alinement with the base 6 and when in osition on the bus bars project, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to such anextent that the contacting surfaces of the clip secured'toone conductor or bus bar are nulway between that conductor and the adjacent conductor. Two clips may therefore be mounted on'two parallel-bus bars, as shown on the left of the conductor could obviously beconnected to the left hand side of the system by arranging the contact clips on the neutral and on the left hand outside conductor.

The circuit is automatically controlled by means of a circuit breaker with movable contact 8 made in the form of contact blades which coiiperate with the contact clips 5 and are carried on the pivots 9 mounted parallel to the conductors or bus bars 2, 3 and 4. Each movable contact 8 is biased to open the circuit by means of a coil spring 10,1

which surrounds the pivot 9 and has rojecting parallel ends which are separate by a stationary lug or abutment 11 and also by a lug or abutment 12 carried on the blade. These lugs are in such relation to each other that when thevcontact 8 is in the circuit opening position of the lower contact blade of Fig. 3, the two lugs are in alinement and the spring is not under strain, but when the contact 8 is in the circuit closing position of the upper contact 8 of Fig. 3, the ends of the spring and the lugs are separated, as shown, and the spring is put under strain.

Each movable contact' 1s stopped in position in the contact clips and is latched-closed in any suitable manner, and in the preferred construction each contact is provided with a blade 13 which carries a lug 14; for stopping the contact in proper position with its ends between the contacting surface of the contact dip? and also with a restraining lug 15 for holding the contact in circuit closing position against the strain exerted by the spring 10. The movable contact may be pre-" vented from going through the contact clip 5 by any suitable stop which engages the lug 14, but in the preferred construction a ivoted latch 16, which is mounted to move in a plane transverse to the plane of movement of the contact blade 8, acts both as a I stop to prevent oversetting of the contact 8 and also as a latch to hold the contact closed i against the tension of its spring. The latch 16 is provided withv a resilient actuating arm 17 at right angles to the latch and is mounted support 20, firnily secured to the base or panel 1 and carrying at its upper ends the pivot 9 on which movable contact 8 is mounted. The latch 16 extends through a slot in the side of the support 20 adjacent the pivot and its free end extends through a guide slot 21 in the opposite side of the U-shaped support 20, the guide slot preventing transverse movement of the free end of the latch, so that any strain exerted upon the latch by the contact Sisresisted by the pivot and also by the guide for the free end of the latch. The partsare so proportioned that the lug 14 cannotbe carried past the latch in any position of the latch; while when the latch is in its lowermost position the restraining lug 15 is' released and the movable contact is free to respond to the bias of the spring 10 and to open the circuit The latch 16 therefore acts both as. a

stop to prevent oversetting of the contact 8 ment with the restraining lug 15 to release the movable contact and thereby open the circuit upon the occurrence of overload.

The circuit breaker comprising the 0on1 tact 8 and latch 16 is closed by means of a;

switch arm, connected in series with the contact 8 and arranged to move the contact 8 into'circuit closing position. The switch arm is preferably made as short aspossible in order to minimize the space required on the switch board and in the preferred construction the switch arm which is made of two parts or members comprises a movable -member 22 mounted on the pivot 9, and a contact blade or member 23, insulated from lot the movable member 22 and coiiperating with a contact clip 24 which corresponds to the contact clip 5 with which the movable contact 8 coiiperates. The contact blade 23 is preferably provided with a projection or stop 25 which engages the end of the contact clip 24 and prevents the contactblade going beyond a predetermined position in the contact clip. There are two contact blades or members 23 connected by means of a handle 26 of any suitable insulating material, so that the two switch blades on the two sides of the circuit are fastened together. and operate as one device. The two parts of each switch arm are electrically connected and also mechanically bound together by an overload or trip coil for actuatingthe latch 16 and mounted on the switch arm to encircle both parts or members of the switch arm and to clamp them rigidly to each other. In the preferred con, struction, the member 22 and the contact blade 23 are rigidly held in proper relation to each other b means of an insulating spool 28 provi ed with a longitudinal groove which fits snugly over the two' members of the switch arm and has the bottom a cylindrical key or projection 29 which contact blade 23. As a result of this conclose the circuit the handle 26 is moved struction, as shown in Fig. 2, the movable member and the contact member are clamped to each other in the longitudinal groove and are immovably held when the parts are assembled, the cylindrical key 29 entering the recesses 30 and locking the two members against longitudinal displacement while the walls of the groove in the spool 28 prevent lateral displacement. Afterthe parts of the switch blade are placed in positlon in the groove in the insulating spool 28 they are held in the groove by any suitable means, preferably at bow shaped yoke of iron placed on top of the two members and separated from them by a thin sheet of insulation. The yoke has a recess 32 which fits over the end of the key 29, and thereby positions the yoke in the groove. In manufacturing the swltch the two members of the switch arm are laid in the groove in the spool 28 and the yoke 31 is then placed on top of them, after -which the coil 27 is wound on the. spool, whereby the yoke and members of the switch are firmly bound in place in the groove. On the outer ends of the yoke an armature 33 is loosely mounted on guide pins 34 ahd is so arranged that the end of the armature strikes the arm 17 when the armature is lifted, ther'eby moving the latch 16 out of engagement with the lug 15 and plermitting the movable contact 8 to open t e circuit. One end of the I yoke 31 is provided with a curved tip 35, so

proportioned that when the switch arm is swung about the pivot to force the contacts 8 into the clips 5, the curved tip 35 engages the end of the spring arm 17 and moves it in a direction to throw the latch 16 into latching position, thereby exerting a spring pressure on the latch to tlirow it into a mstrictecl to the precise arrangement dis-- closed position and avoidingfthe uncertainty of action which is encotmtered when the closing of the latch is dependent upon gravity. The insulating-spool 28 is provided with a wearing plate'36 placed in a position to receive the impact of the movable contact 8 when the switch opens and thereby prevent the blow ofthe movable contact from injuring the insulating spool.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2, both the switch and the circuit breaker are open. If it is desired to in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 9 thereby forcing the movable contact 8 between the contacting surfaces 7 of the clips 5. As the switch arm swings into position to force the contact 8 into the clips 5, the curved tip 35 of the yoke 31 presses down upqn the outer end of the spring arm the latch 16 which holds it in yielding eninto latching position behind the lug 15 as soon as the movable contact 8 is fairly between the contacting surface 7 and the clips 5. If an attempt is made to throw the movable contact farther and cause it to pass through the cli s 5 the lug 14 engages the latch 16 and e ectively stops further movement of the contact 8. The latch 16 springing into position behind the restraining lug 15 latches the circuit breaker closed and the switch arm is then moved in a clockwise direction until the contacts 23 engage the contact clips 24, thereby closing the circuit through the circuit breaker. If an overload exists upon the circuit when the switch is closed an abnormal current will flow through the contact 23, around through the tripping coil 27 into the movable member rent sets up a strong magnetic field which lifts the armature 33 and causes it to deliver a blow on the end of the spring arm 17, thereby throwin the latch 16 out of engagement with t e restraining lug 15 and permitting the movable contact 8 to move out of the contact clips 5 under the influence of the spring 10.

Since the movable contact 8 is in the form of a light blade and is freely movable about the pivot 9,. the circuit is opened very quickly and with a minimum of sparking. The movable contacts 8 are in duplicate and each is provided with its own tripping magnet and latch identical in construction. The device is then a double pole circuit breaker and protects both sides of the circuit- Our invention may be embodied in many other forms than that shown and described and" we do'not, therefore, wish to be re- Elosed, and intend to cover by the appended claim all changes and modifications which are within the spirit and scope of our in vention.

What we claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States,

1. In a circuit' controller, the combination with an automatic circuit breaker comprising cooperating contacts biased to separate, and latching means for holding said contacts into engagement, of a switch in series with said circuit breaker and by means of which said circuit breaker is closed. and means whereby said switch yieldingly forces during the closing of said circuit breaker.

2. In a circuit controlllng device, the combination 'with a circuit breaker comprising cooperating contacts biased to Separate, one

17 and thereby exerts a spring pressure on I gagement with the plate 13 and throws it p Y22 and thence through the movable contact 8 to the contact clips 5. This abnormal cursaid latching means into latching position ment, of a'switch in series with said circuit breaker comprising a switch blade mounted I on the same pivot as said pivoted contact of said circuit breaker and by means of which the circuit breaker is closed, and means on said switch bladefor coiiperating with said latching means to yieldingly force said latching means into latching position as said circuit breaker is closed by said switch blade.

I 3. A circuit controlling device comprising a circuit breaker, a switch arm in series therewith arranged to close said circuit breaker when said switch arm is moved to open the circuit and a trip coil for said circuit breaker mounted on said switch arm.

4. A circuit controlling device comprising a movable co tact, a switch arm connected in series with said contact and arranged to move said contact to close the circuit when said switch arm is moved to open the circuit, a latch for holding said' movable contact in circuit closing position and a trip coil for said latch mounted on said switch arm.

5. In a circuit controller, the combination with I a movable switch arm, of a circuit breaker connected in series with said switch arm and comprising separable contacts biase'd to open the circuit, said contacts being closed by said switch arm when said arm is moved to open the circuit, restraining means for holding said contacts closed, and electroresponsive means mounted on said switch arm to control said restraining means.

6. In a circuit controller, the combination with a movable switch arm, of a circuit breaker'connected in series with said switch arm'and comprising separable contacts normallv biased to open the circuit, said contacts being closed by said switch arm when said arm is moved to open the circuit, a' latch for holding said contacts closed, a coiled conductor arranged to form part of said switch arm, and an armature for said coil arranged to cotiperate with said latch.

7 In a circuit controller, the combination with a movable switch arm comprising two parts rigidly connected and insulated from each other; of a circuit breaker connected in series with said switch arm and comprising cooperating contactsbiased to open the circuit and to be closed by said switch arm as said arm is moved to open the circuit, a latch for holding said contacts closed, a coil 2 having its winding connected between the two parts of said switch arm and an armalatch.

comprising coiiperating contacts biased to separate, one of saidcontactsbeing pivoted, and a latch for holding said contacts in enture tor said coil arranged to actuate said- 8. In a circuit controlling device, the combination with an automatic circuit breaker gagement and provided with a spring arm, of a switch blade mounted on the samepivot as said pivoted contact and by means of which said circuit breaker is closed, and a projection on said switch arm to engage sald spring arm on said latch and thereby yieldingly force said latch toward latching position as the circuit breaker is being closed by said switch arm.

9. A circuit breaker comprising a p1voted catch, a uide for the free end of said catch, a a movable contact biased to open the Cir cuit and having one lug to engage with said catch to prevent opening of the circuitand a second lug to engage said catch to limit the circuit closing movement of said contact, and electroresponsive means for moving said catch out of engagement with the first lug.

10. A circuit breaker comprising a pivoted catch, a guide for the free end of said catch to prevent sidewise movement of said catch, a movable contact biased to open the circuit and shaped to engage said catch between its pivot and said guide during movement of said contact to close the circuit, whereby oversetting of said contact is prevented, a lug for engaging said catch to hold said contact in circuit closing position, "and electroresponsive means for moving said catch to release said contact.

11. A circuit breaker comprising a bow shaped support having alined apertures in opposite sides, a movable contact pivoted between the .ends of said support and biased to open the circuit, a catch pivoted to one side of said support to extend through said apertures and to stop said contact in predetermined position to prevent oversetting of said contact, a lug on said catch whereby said catch holds said contact in circuit clos- .ing position, and electroresponsive means for moving said catch to release said contact and thereby open the circuit.

12. In a circuit controller, the combination with a contact, of a controlling arm comprising a cooperating contact, a movable member insulated from said contact,- and a conducting winding arranged to clamp said member and said contact rigidly to each other, said winding having its opposite ends connected to said member and to said contact respectively. 7

13. In a circuit controller, the combination with fixed and movable coiiperating contacts, of .a movable member insulated from said movable contact,'and a coil mounted on said member to clamp said contact and member to each other, the opposite ends of said. coil being connected to said member andto said contact respectively.

14. In a circuit controller, the combination with a contact connected to one terminal of the circuit, of a circuit controlling arm comprising a coiiper'ating contact, a member connected to the other terminal of the circuit and insulated from said cooperating contact, and a coil wound over said member and said contact to clamp them rigidly end to said contact.

15. In a circuit controller, the combination with a contact cli forming oneterminal of the circuit, 0 a controlling arm comprising a cooperating contact blade, a

said contact and said member, and a winding encircling said contact and said member ad acent said key with its opposite ends connected to said member and to said contact respectively.

17. In a circuit controller, the combination with a contact, of. circuit controlling arm comprising a co"perating contact having a recess, a movable member insulated from said contact and having a corresponding recess, an insulating key fitted in said recesses to prevent longitudinal relative movement of said'contact and said member, an insulating sleeve encircling said contact and said member to prevent relative lateral movement, and a winding on said sleeve with its opposite ends connected to said member and to said contact respectively.

18. In a circuit controller, the combination with a circuit breaker comprising a latch for tripping the circuit breaker to open the circuit, of a switch arm connected in series with said circuit breaker and comprising a contact, a movable member insulated from said contact, a winding encircling said member and said contact to clamp them to each other and having its opposite ends connected to said member and to said contact respectively, and-a movable armature responsive to the magnetic field of said coil to actuate said latch and. thereby trip said circuit breaker.

19. In a circuit controller, with a circuit breaker comprising a latch for tripping the circuit breaker to open the circuit, of a switch arm connected in series with said circuit breaker and comprising acontact, a movable member insulated from said contact,,a magnetic yoke adjacent said member and said contact,- an armature mounted on said yoke to respond to varia-. tionsin' flux in said yokeand therebyK actuate said latch to trip said circuit brea to each other and having one end connected to said member and the opposite '22. In a circuit the combination.

er, and

a winding having its ends connected to said member and to said contact and arranged to encircle said member, said contact, and said yoke to clamp them into a rigid circuit controlling arm.

20. In a circuit controller, the combination with a circuit breaker comprising a latch for tripping the circuit breaker to open the circuit. of a switch arm connected in series with said circuit breaker and comprising two adjacent members insulated from I each other and having confronting recesses to form an opening through said members, a magnetic 'yoke mounted adjacent? said members and having an opening in alinement with said recesses, an insulating spool with a longitudinal groove to receive said members and said yoke and having a projecting key fitting into said opening, a

winding on said spool with its ends con- 7.

nected to said members, and an armature mounted on said yoke to move said latch and thereby trip said breaker.

21. In 'a circuit controller, the combination with a circuit breaker comprising a latch for tripping the circuit breaker to open the. circuit, of a switch arm connected in v series with said circuit breaker and having a transverse opening, a magnetic yoke having an opening in registry with the opening in said arm and mounted on said switch arm an insulating sleeve with a longitudinal groove to receive said arm and yoke and a projecting key to enter both said openings, a winding on said spool encircling said arm andyoke, and an armature on said yoke with its ends projecting away from said'arm,

to actuate said latch and thereby trip said circuit breaker.

controller, the combination with a movable contact biased to open the circuit and a latch for engaging said contact to hold it in circuit closing position, of a movable switch arm for moving said contact into circuit closing position, and resilient means cooperating with said switch arm to yieldingly force said latch into latching position and set under strain by said switch arm before said arm forces said contact into circuit closing position.

23. In a circuit controller, the combination with a movable contact biased to open the circuit and a latch for engaging said contact to hold it in circuit-closing position, of a movable switch arm for moving said contact into circuit closing position, and a spring connected to said latch to force said latch into latching position and set under strain by said switch arm when said'arm forces said contact into circuit closing position. v

24:. In: a circuit controller,.the combination with a movable contact biased to open the circuit and a latch for engaging said contact to hold it in circuit closing position, '130 6 v F1 -,'o'9's,'2";"a I

saidlatch having a spring arm, of a movhave hereunto set my hand this 21st day of ableqswitch arm for-moving said contact December, 1908. into circuit closing position and having a q HENRY P. BALL. cam which engages said spring arm and GILBERT WRIGHT.

5 thereby forces said latch' toward latching Wit; esses to Ball:

- position as said contact approaches circuit A. closing position. T P

I In witness whereof .I, HENRY P. BALL, Witnesses to Wright:

have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of- BENJAMIN B. HULL, 10 December, 1908, and I,- GILBERT. WRIGHT, HELEN'ORFORD. 

